Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is not allowed to bid for the Washington Commanders, the team’s banker, Bank of America, has told the billionaire, a person briefed on the sale process confirmed to The Athletic.
The person added that Bezos being barred from bidding has been a reality for months.
Bezos owns the Washington Post, which published a series of stories documenting a culture of sexual harassment at the team that ultimately helped build the pressure to sell. But beyond that, team owner Daniel Snyder has long felt, those close to him have said over the years, that the newspaper has endeavored to oust him from the NFL.
“It’s a free country, he can sell to whomever he wants,” the person briefed on the sale process said. Bezos, because he is barred from bidding, has not had access to the team’s finances.
The New York Post on Friday first reported on Snyder keeping Bezos away from the sale process and added that the Commanders owner may decide to maintain control of the franchise he’s owned since 1999 if the bids do not reach his desired price.
However, a person close to the situation told The Athletic that activity with the potential sale has “ramped up.”
The Athletic also confirmed a Washington Post report that Bezos has been working with banking firm Allen & Co. as he ponders a bid.
Commanders coach Ron Rivera concluded a month-long search for an offensive coordinator last week. The new hire, former Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, asked Rivera and team president Jason Wright for clarity on the franchise sale during the meeting.
“That’s part of what I had to answer for sure,” Wright said Thursday after Bieniemy’s introductory press conference. “And that’s my job, right? I’m the closest to all that. Eric, just like the rest of us, sees the transition as one that’s good for the organization … There’s nothing but upside for the organization, and we’ve already had a lot of success in rebuilding the football side of the business from where we started when Ron took over.”
Bezos did not make an offer in the first round of bidding that closed recently.
Those bids were reportedly less than $6 billion, though professionals in sports banking and law said that some may have come in above that figure.
Previously, word in the market had been Snyder would not accept anything less than $7 billion, a figure that now appears to have dropped to $6 billion. That is still $1.35 billion more than the Denver Broncos sold for last year, a record for a professional sports team. While the Broncos are in a smaller market, the Commanders’ attendance and market reputation are among the worst in the NFL.
Under intense pressure to cede the club following waves of scandals and negative attention, Snyder announced in November the club had retained Bank of America to run a process that could result in a full or partial sale of the team, though doubts have persisted he will follow through.
Those doubts will only be further stoked by the Bezos exclusion, and word that the bids may not have reached Snyder’s preferred threshold.
“This is playing out exactly how many feared,” said one sports lawyer of the scenario that Snyder would create an unrealistic price threshold, keep out the wealthiest bidder, and not sell the team.
One bidder is Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and Crystal Palace partner Josh Harris. Other reported potential bidders include some who came up short on the Broncos, including media investor Byron Allen, and the founders of Clearlake Capital, Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano. Harris also bid on the Broncos.
The Athletic previously reported Harris recently toured the team facilities. Two tours with prospective bidders have occurred, a person close to the situation told The Athletic.
Wright said Bieniemy asked questions about Washington’s principals as much as the team sought information from its eventual new play-caller.
“I mean, of course, asking about stability, organization and the transaction process and the sale and all these other things,” Wright said. “For someone who is going to be a close colleague and a leader committed to getting us to a championship, it was important to be able to answer those.”
The Commanders and Snyder are subjects of an NFL-led investigation into sexual harassment and workplace misconduct, as well as a probe into concerns he held back revenue that was to be shared with other owners. Both are being overseen by former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White.
It has been over a year since the NFL hired White to investigate, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has repeatedly said the league has no control over when her probes are complete. Some view that assertion skeptically, believing the results of the probes may be sidelined if Snyder sells, or threatened to be released if he balks at selling.
Colts owner Jim Irsay became the first of Snyder’s peers to publicly say there is merit for an ouster at the league’s fall meetings last year, telling reporters in New York that “potentially there will be” enough support from other owners to have Snyder removed.
It would take 24 of the 32 owners to vote to oust one of their peers, an event that has never occurred in any league in the U.S.
If it comes to that, Snyder is sure to argue he can’t get a fair price for the team because he is being forced to sell and bidders know that, said one sports investment banker, who requested anonymity because he has done business in the past with the team. NFL owners will want to see the highest price because it affects their own franchises’ valuations.
How excluding Bezos fits into that narrative though is unclear. And it is always possible the NFL pressures Snyder to let Bezos bid.
Bezos’ Amazon is an NFL partner through its broadcast of Thursday Night Football. And there is even talk Bezos could sell the Post, though whether that is enough for Snyder and his apparent visceral dislike of anything connected to the newspaper, is uncertain.
(Photo of Jeff Bezos: Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos denied chance to bid on Commanders: Source - The Athletic
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